…Creating a Business Plan Continued…

Now that you’ve established the kind of business you will operate, the services you will offer, and the clientele you will serve, let’s dive into bringing this business plan into reality with marketing, operations, management, and financial planning.
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Marketing Plan

Many spiritual entrepreneurs have negativity towards marketing. They view it as manipulation to make people buy something they don’t need. The truth is, if your marketing plan focuses on educating you students, providing value, and inspirational communications, you allow your students to make educated decisions without any sales pressure.

As you begin to piece together a marketing plan, consider the following sections:

• Competitive Advantage What sets you apart from your competition? Avoid making negative remarks towards others in your field (bad karma) and focus on the value you provide that is unique and memorable.
• Product & Price You’ve already outlined the products and services you are offering. Now set a price for each of these services. You will also want to include prices for class packs or unlimited memberships, discounts for specific groups, and special packages for new students.
• Promotion How are you communicating your message and raising awareness about your business? A multiple prong strategy allows you to penetrate your target market more deeply. The more often your ideal client is seeing your name, the more likely they will be curious to check out what you have to offer.

Marketing your business is an ongoing process. Dedicating time to marketing each week – even each day – can drastically increase your business. Not only will you attract new clients, but you will reinforce your value to current students. As the saying goes – it’s easier to keep an existing client than to gain a new client! So don’t forget to consistently share your message with existing students to provide additional value outside the studio, increase student retention, increase class sizes, and generate referrals (word of mouth marketing).

Join me for the Intro to Marketing webinar to create a promotional strategy custom tailored to attracting your ideal client.

Operations Plan

Consider the operations plan to be your resource guide for running your business. This is your checklist for running your business. Make sure to cover your physical requirements for your business and operations checklists.

You may want to include in the operations plan:

• Physical Location Not only the address, but also the layout (if you are opening a studio). Make sure your layout allows for traffic flow between classes, accessible restrooms/change rooms, and access to the front desk. If you are planning to have a boutique, you may want to get some opinions on a layout to ensure you are placing furniture and products in favorable locations.
• Start-Up Equipment What do you need to open the doors to your business? List out each piece of equipment, purpose of equipment, cost of equipment, and supplier. Spend time thinking of anything that you will need – it is better to be prepared and have the money set aside than to be blindsided when you realize you don’t have a credit card scanner as you are checking students in.
• Suppliers Do your research before purchasing supplies, including equipment, marketing materials, or boutique inventory. Make a list of your selected suppliers, along with contact information, what you order from them, and the cost of supplies. This will make it very easy to delegate any purchasing in the future as well as provide reference if you are offered a deal by a new supplier.
• Opening Checklist Putting together these checklists, even before you have additional staff, will make life much easier. Admittedly, you will probably miss things the first time around, so continue to add to this checklist until you have the routine down. (If you are a teacher – this could be a pre-class checklist to ensure everything runs smoothly).
• Closing Checklist Many businesses create an opening checklist, but don’t have a system for closing. If you break up some of the tasks that simply must be done (housekeeping, followup with voicemails, emails, etc.), you will ensure that each day runs smoothly. (If you are a teacher – this could be a post-class checklist to follow up with students, build your relationship with studio or gym, or similar).
• New Student Checklist A new student is the lifeblood of growing your business! A quick checklist will ensure that each new student is welcomed into your community with love and without pressure. Include your student waiver, student information form, perhaps an interest survey, and especially a follow up thank you note!
• Housekeeping Checklist Housekeeping is one of the first things you can delegate! There are dozens of potential students who would love to build a practice, but can’t afford to pay $15 a class. Set up a work exchange – these students will happily sweep floors, wipe down bathrooms, and clean mats after class. A checklist will ensure that things are up to your standards.

Management Plan

Even if you are the only employee of your business, creating a management plan provides you with a strategy to bring in the right people at the right time.

Even if you are handling all the roles of your business, some day you will hire someone else to help you grow. Create job descriptions for your internal team including:

• Studio Manager
• Yoga Teachers
• Retail Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Karma Yoga/Housekeeping

Finally, you are not in this alone. Pull together a team of external experts and coaches. Share your business plan with them and ask them for advice and direction. Learn from the experiences and mistakes of other business owners. Even if they are not in the yoga business, business is business. Most entrepreneurs go through similar struggles. Mistakes are expensive – it is much smarter (and cheaper!) to learn from a mentor!

Pull together the following external team:

• Financial Planner/Coach If you are unsure about business finance, especially how it relates to your personal financial goals, find a financial planner who specializes in working with small business owners. Look for a Certified Financial Planner – they understand the types of business structures, can help you value your business, create retirement plans for small business owners, manage estate planning, and help you achieve your personal and business financial goals – such as planning for retirement or sending your kids to college.
• CPA/Bookkeeper Taxes are a major challenge for all business owners. Laws change frequently and mistakes come with hefty fines. Hire a good CPA to handle your taxes. When it comes to paying the bills and managing the day-to-day finances, look for a good bookkeeper or bookkeeping service. These businesses will help you stay on top of the finances including bills, paying suppliers, payroll, etc.
• Business Insurance There is more to business insurance than liability. What if something happens to you? If you are disabled even for only a short period of time, would your business survive? A insurance agent specializing in business insurance can make sure that no matter what happens, your business will stay open.
• Banking You may want access to online banking, but as a business owner, you don’t want to be talking to a different operator each time there is a question. Go to your local branch and introduce yourself to the business banking specialist. Make sure they know who you are. A personal relationship will help when there is a snafu in your finances.
• Lawyer A good lawyer is indispensable. They can save you a lot of headache when it comes to negotiating leases, writing contracts (for teachers or subleasing), and making sure that you are protected if someone decides to sue you. Don’t wait until something goes wrong – develop a relationship with a lawyer so that when something happens, they already understand your business.
• Mentors Find a mentor! A mentor is someone who you can turn to when you have questions or need someone to help brainstorm. Your mentor does not even have to be in your industry if they have a good background in small business and marketing.
• Business Coach A business coach can help you identify and achieve goals in your business by working with you to create strategies and action plans.

Financial Plan

The financial plan section of your business plan is one of the most complicated and crucial sections, especially if you have to carry the high overhead of running a studio.

Start your financial plan with your financial objectives. Consider:

• When will the studio break-even (ie income is more than expenses)?
• When will you be able to draw an income? How much?
• When will you hire additional staff? How much will they get paid?
• Any other assumptions that you may include when planning the growth of expenses.

Now consider your start-up expenses. Depending on what kind of yoga business you are starting, your start up expenses could be as low as a couple hundred dollars or as high as several thousand. Consider:

• Business license fees
• Rent/prepaid rent/deposits
• Signage
• Marketing materials
• Yoga props/supplies
• Any other expenses – depending on your business.

The most challenging part of the financial plan – financial projections. If you do now have a background in finance or accounting, save yourself the trouble and ask for help.

Many small business owners overestimate income, setting themselves up for failure by paying too much for rent or other fixed expenses. If your location only pays for itself with 5 maxed out classes per day, be aware that it could take years until your business consistently fills an entire yoga class. It is much easier to start small, with lower expenses, than to start with very high expenses and struggle to pay the bills.

When creating financial projections, create the following financial statements projecting out at least 5 years:

• Income statement/Profit Loss statement
• Cash Flow statement
• Balance Sheet statement

Download Quickbooks Simple Start to help you track income and expenses.

Milestones

Finally, wrap up your business plan with a section detailing milestones you intend to achieve. You created your vision for your business and your life in the first section of your business plan. In the milestones section, you can set target milestones, month by month, for each section of your business plan.

A five year action plan to achieve your milestones may look like this:

• Year 1 – Monthly action steps (Marketing/Management/Financial milestones)
• Year 2 – Quarterly action steps (Marketing/Management/Financial milestones)
• Year 3-5 – Annual action steps (Marketing/Management/Financial milestones)

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July Business Bootcamp

Allow The Yogipreneur to guide you through the process of creating a functional, results-oriented business plan. This series of 4 webinars will take you through each section of a business plan with a bonus session on creating systems to allow you to achieve more of your goals with less time and energy!

Two Week Series | Tuesdays & Thursdays 1PM – 4PM | July 14 – 23 2009
Creating a five year strategic action plan for your business.
Read more and Register Online

As a yoga teacher, you take time to prepare for a class. You set the intention for the class. You look for inspiration from your teachers to impart on your students. A sequence is developed to prepare the body to reach a specific posture. Each class builds on what you taught in the previous class.

So it surprises me that many yogis begin on the journey of a yoga business (teaching or owning a studio) without a goal in mind. They spend more time planning classes than planning for their business.

Without a clearly defined purpose, the business is more likely to be unfocused and lack direction. When opportunities or roadblocks arise, how do you decide what to do or what not to do if you don’t even know where you are going?

A business plan is a tool that can bring clarity to decision making in your business. This is not a static document – a functional business plan is a dynamic plan that is consistently reviewed and updated. It keeps the business on track so that you can achieve the vision for your ideal life.

What is in a business plan?

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Executive Summary

The executive summary provides direction for the business. This is the section that would be read by investors or a board of directors to get a feel for your business. An executive summary answers the question “What does this business do? Why does the business to this?” while the remainder of the business plan answers “How? Who? When? Where?”.

In your executive summary, include:

• Vision If you have been reading any of The Yogipreneur blog, you have now created a vision for your business and your life. In your business plan, you should craft a statement that states the major purpose for starting your business. By including a vision statement in your business plan, you are setting a powerful intention and setting the law of attraction in motion to magnetize your vision to you.
• Mission How is a mission different from a vision? Your mission statement is your talking logo. It is a statement that tells your students who you are, what you stand for, and what makes you different. It is a powerful answer to “What do you do?” that intrigues people and sets you apart from similar businesses. This is the statement you will include in your communications, marketing, and public relations campaigns. This statement may evolve as your business evolves to resonate with your community.
• Values Most businesses do not include this in a business plan, but I find that stating the values of the business, you set clear expectations of yourself and your employees. Limit to the top 5 values that are the most important to your community. For example, the values of The Yogipreneur LLC are: Integrity, Fun, Gratitude, Philanthropy, Creativity.
• Business Summary The business summary highlights the major points of each of the key elements of the business plan. Any outside person should be able to read this section and understand: who the business serves, the products/services offered, and who is on the business team. You may want to write this section last and keep it about a page long.

Market Research

This entire section is dedicated to understanding who you are serving. Many businesses open their doors without understanding the market they are trying to serve. If you don’t know anything about your clients, how can you possibly communicate how your services can benefit them? By positioning your business to serve the needs of your clients, you will provide more value and your services will sell themselves.

Market research does take some time and detective work. National statistics may not apply to your community. By answering these questions, you will have a better understanding of your community and potential students:

• What industry are you operating in?
• What are the trends in your industry?
• What is the growth of your industry?
• What are the key success factors in your industry?
• Who are your competitors – where do people in your community take yoga?
• What services do your competitors offer? How much do they cost?
• What are the demographics (sex/age/income) of your city?
• What are the demographics of your yoga community (sex/age/income)?
• Who is your primary customer/secondary customer?
• What are the needs of your primary/secondary customers?
• Why do your primary/secondary customers practice yoga?
• How can you provide value to your primary/secondary customers?

Admittedly, there is not much information already available about the yoga market. Where can you get this information?

• Yoga Journal publishes a study on the yoga industry. Search for the Yoga in America Study to find some fantastic statistics.
• Interview local teachers, yoga studios and even gyms.
• Create a survey! Make it short and sweet – no more than 10 questions – and survey at least 50 people. A great way to do this is to frequent other businesses that serve similar clientele (Whole Foods is a fantastic place – get permission from the manager first).

Products & Services

This is the one section that all business owners are able to create very easily. Even if you don’t write a business plan, you know what services you are offering!

How do you ensure that you are offering the right products and services? Understanding your market (see above). If you are targeting young professionals, don’t waste your time trying to create a class for gentle yoga or yoga for 50+. Offer products and services that your core market will value. You will be able to spend less time and energy marketing and selling if you have tailored your business to serve a specific type of student.

Make sure you create descriptions of the products and services you are offering. Write these descriptions as if you were talking to a potential student. Each description should answer: 1) What is the student looking for? and 2) What value does this service provide? Here are some suggestions for common products and services:

• Yoga Classes Create a class description for each type of class you offer. Do not write this description full of yoga terms – make it clear to anyone the type of class, the intensity, and what types of students will benefit from this class.
• Private Yoga Why would someone take private yoga sessions? Provide value in your description of the benefits of working one on one – this will drastically reduce price resistance.
• Corporate Yoga Many companies, large and small, are looking to reduce the cost of healthcare, improve employee moral and loyalty, and help employees manage stress. How can you help these corporations achieve their goals? Create a compelling description that educated the human resources manager about the benefits of yoga for employees.
• Teacher Training Many people enroll in a training program to deepen their own practice. Some are looking for a career in yoga. Make sure your address the different reasons someone would enroll in a teacher training program and how your program will provide value.
• Yoga Workshops Workshops are a fantastic way to bring guest teachers to your business OR for you to boost your resume by offering workshops at other studios. Create a list of 10-12 topics for potential workshops.
• Yoga Retreats Retreats are becoming a popular way to take a vacation. If you are considering yoga retreats, be prepared to market your retreat outside of your core student base. Consider combining a yoga retreat with a philanthropy project to create the ultimate experience.
• Yoga Retail Warning – Retail is another business! If you have no experience managing inventory, merchandising products, or selling products – you may not want to enter this world without the help of an experienced retail manager. Determine what kind of products you will offer – yoga props, clothing, lifestyle, accessories, etc. Focus on a specific

Keep Reading – Creating a Business Plan Part II
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July Business Bootcamp

Allow The Yogipreneur to guide you through the process of creating a functional, results-oriented business plan. This series of 4 webinars will take you through each section of a business plan with a bonus session on creating systems to allow you to achieve more of your goals with less time and energy!

Two Week Series | Tuesdays & Thursdays 1PM – 4PM | July 14 – 23 2009
Creating a five year strategic action plan for your business.
Read more and Register Online

I am often asked how I am able to stay so focused and accomplish so much so quickly. Many people think that I must work non-stop – but this is not true. Admittedly, I used to be one of those people who put in a 12 hour day then came home to work on the weekends. Now I have simply learned some ways to work smarter and not harder – freeing up my time and energy to pursue my passions and spend time with my loved ones.

So here are some of my tips and tricks so that you can get off the 12 hour treadmill and start having more control over your time!
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Importance of Space
Creating a functional workspace will have an incredible impact on your energy, focus, and productivity. This space should be dedicated 100% to your work. Each day you enter this space, you should instantly be able to get started and ready to go.

Clear the clutter! You may think that you are able to work just fine with those piles of paper on the desk, extra files on the floor, and things strewn about; but you will never become efficient working in that environment.

Create a filing system. File away only documents that you will need to refer back to. Throw away or shred anything you will never need again. Organize your files into groups such as finances, marketing, clients, and staff. Use the same labels for your paper (hard copy) files as well as your computer and email (soft copy) files.

Get Inspired!Hang your vision board directly above your desk. Look at it each day. Visualize that you have achieved that ideal life. If what you are spending time, energy and money on is not getting you closer to your vision, STOP IMMEDIATELY! Focus on the big picture.

Model Calendar
This is one of my biggest secrets! Many people focus on to-do lists – unfortunately as a business owner there are tasks that you must do each week to ensure your business success.

A model calendar blocks out time each week to focus on specific tasks. Every business owner should block out time for returning phone calls and emails, marketing, professional development, client relationships, and business planning.

This is essentially setting meetings for yourself. Each meeting has a purpose. Focus on the topic at hand during this meeting – do not get distracted by email, the phone, or your to-do list. Your productivity will skyrocket when you begin to systematize how you approach the key tasks to running your business.

To Do Lists
Many of us keep a to-do list that never seems to end. New things are constantly being added to the list. It becomes so overwhelming that you begin to focus on the little things instead of the more challenging tasks. Wasting time and energy sweating the small stuff will prevent you from achieving your bigger vision.

Years ago, as a graduate student, I read Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. This book completely transformed how I looked at where I spend my time and energy. One of the tools I began to use was a Four-Corner To-Do List. Download Four Corner To Do List

This to-do list prioritizes your tasks by importance and urgency. If you focus on the important tasks at hand (and use a model calendar), you will quickly find that the number of urgent tasks is dramatically reduced as you focus energy on important tasks.

With few urgent tasks, you begin to get more control over your time. You can plan out your day, even your week, in advance, knowing that urgent issues can be handed at your convenience!
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Asking for help is a challenge that many of us face. Many people think that no-one else can do it as well as they can, so they take on everything. And suddenly you are overwhelmed and burned out.

When it comes to valuing your time, consider all of the tasks that you have taken on to run your business. You not only teach classes, but you answer the phone, check email, send out marketing materials, check people in and probably clean the bathrooms too. Now consider – which of these tasks are the most valuable to my business that I must handle myself and which tasks, while still important, are able to be delegated?

It doesn’t make sense for a teacher who can otherwise earn $50-75 per hour to spend time worried about $10 work. So what to do?

Attract a work-study student! Trust me, there are people in your community who are loving yoga class, but perhaps it really is too expensive for them OR they really want to be a part of the team. This is especially true if you are near a college!

So how do you do this?

1) Create a job description – what does this work-study student need to do? This completely depends on the needs of the studio or teacher (yes a teacher can have a work-study student too!). It could be anything from cleaning used yoga mats and sweeping the floors to checking in students for class to putting up flyers all over town. Also, explain the trade of time for yoga.

2) Create a checklist – Make expectations clear! Give them a daily checklist to follow.

3) Advertise – I use Craigslist.com as well as a blurb in our studio newsletter.

4) RSVP – Have people RSVP to a open group interview. Request that they send a resume and have them tell you why they are interested in yoga. In response, send out the job description and expectations – this will allow them to decide if they will be able to commit to helping.

5) Group Interview – Set up one interview. That’s right – just one. Invite everyone to an open interview. Share a brief practice (so they know what they are getting for the exchange) and then offer some time for Q&A. You will know upon meeting someone if their energy is right for your studio.

Once you have a work study student – let them know how much they are appreciated! Take them out for lunch or give them a gift card after a few months. And start focusing on the tasks that will grow your business!

When you spend a majority of your time in the yoga world, talking with other yogis, it is easy to forget that most people have no idea what we are talking about!

I was reminded of this on Saturday. My husband, who does not practice yoga, decided to come to the studio and take the class I was teaching. He basically suppressed laughter the entire time and I couldn’t figure it out.

After the class, he told me that I said a few things that he didn’t understand. Things like “opening your heart” or “take the full expression”. Most yogis would know what I meant – but he just thought it sounded funny!

So now as I’m planning out classes for the weeks to come and writing materials for The Yogipreneur, I’m thinking of my words. Clarity is key and you have to speak in a way that your audience understands. As you are thinking of attracting new students, consider your words. It would be awful to lose a student because they don’t understand “plugging into your source”. Keep it clear and simple!